The art of the WNBA schedule release

Opening days, All-Star games, and championships have been mainstays on the calendars of sports fans since practically the dawn of time. In the modern, social-media fueled era of fandom, there’s another moment before seasons start that fans have come to know and love: the day their favorite team drops its game schedule.

For leagues like the NFL and NBA, the schedule release has become something of an art form, with teams parodying popular TV shows, petting puppies, and poking fun at their coaches. In a sign of the growth in women’s sports, WNBA teams have also started getting creative.

This year, WNBA teams have come up with friendly roasts, ’90s references, movie poster re-creations, and more to announce their schedules in campaigns that their marketers told us can take months to put together. The efforts aren’t just about driving ticket sales—team execs said these elaborate campaigns can also be integral in building team brands and fanbases.

“There’s an expectation now that you have to step your game up and have a pretty cool schedule release video,” Seattle Storm CMO Will Gulley said. “Otherwise, you’re gonna get trolled.”

Writers’ room

The Storm’s marcom team started brainstorming schedule release pitches before the holidays last year, Gulley said. Everyone came up with a few ideas to present to leadership, but the team went a different direction from what they pitched, he said, ultimately working with influencer and Storm in-arena host Kayce Kirihara on a video showcasing unique Seattle monuments tied to jokes about other WNBA teams.

Over at the Golden State Valkyries, about a dozen people from its marketing, social, and production teams started working on their schedule release in November, President Jess Smith said, landing on a video starring forward Kayla Thorton that, like the Storm’s, makes light-hearted jokes about the other cities while leaning into her typical sense of humor. The video also plays off of the “graphic design is my passion” trend, and was accompanied by additional content featuring San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie speaking to local fans.

Some Minnesota Lynx marketers spend all year brainstorming for the schedule release, according to Jarrel Tolbert, the team’s director of digital content, but they “really lock in” during the offseason once they know when the next season’s schedule will become official.

“You always know that it’s around the corner,” Tolbert said. “Even now, there’s things that we know that we didn’t do this year that we might get more lead time [on] and try to do next year.”

This year, the league’s official start date of May 8 could be somewhat up in the air given ongoing negotiations between the W and its players’ union, but the schedule dropped as expected on Jan. 21. The Lynx rolled out portions of its schedule using a series of posters based on A24 movies, including Marty Supreme for New York Liberty games and Aftersun for the Connecticut Sun. The team landed on the concept by combining their personal interests with trendy pop-culture topics, Tolbert said.

Content library

The Lynx aren’t the only team tapping into recognizable media for its schedule release. The Portland Fire worked with Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen for a Portlandia-themed announcement, and the Dallas Wings re-created The Office opening credits with rapper Monaleo.

The Liberty, too, wanted to lean into pop culture, according to Chief Brand Officer Shana Stephenson, and as an original WNBA franchise celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, the Liberty decided to lean into all things ’90s. At the beginning of the year, it released a six-minute video featuring references to Family Matters, Full House, Jeopardy!, and ’90s TV psychic Miss Cleo.

“We love to be really creative when it comes to our schedule releases, have fun, take it in a different direction, [and] explore concepts that really connect with the fans,” Stephenson said, later adding that a schedule drop “has to be something that engages our fans” and “motivates them to want to buy tickets.”

Under pressure

Like the Liberty, Gulley said his team in Seattle looks to ticket sales to help gauge the success of their schedule drops, but that isn’t the only metric marketers track. The Lynx social team measures stats like views, impressions, and engagement, as well as perception of the team and campaign, Tolbert said.

“Our thing has always been trying to expand beyond just the basketball world,” Gabe Schneider, Lynx social media coordinator, told us. “To make something that resonates with WNBA fans or Lynx fans [and] finding something that not only resonates with them, but people outside of our typical fan base, is always the goal.”

As is natural in the sports world, team marketers said the pressure—and the friendly competition—over schedule release campaigns is heating up. Brands are getting involved now, too: The Valkyries’ schedule release content was sponsored by jersey patch partner Kaiser Permanente, the Toronto Tempo partnered with Lego Canada for its inaugural drop, and the Los Angeles Sparks’ schedule release was presented by nail polish brand Orly.

“As somebody who remembers when the W was launched, it’s so fun to just see that continued cadence of growth and commitment,” Smith said. “Storytelling is top [of the] list of what’s important as we continue to welcome new audiences into the league.”